US 460/Corridor Q meet recap

[hbelkins]

Let's do it.

Facebook event page at https://www.facebook.com/events/515404668537952/. I have invited a few people who showed an interest in attending, but it's a public event so anyone can add themselves.

Meet time to be determined, but probably will be 11:30 a.m. EDT. The tour itinerary will be forthcoming. I have the lunch location set for Reno's Roadhouse in Coal Run Village, Ky., which is an incorporated municipality adjacent to Pikeville. Reno's is a regional steakhouse chain and is where we ate at the 2005 Pikeville US 119 meet.

RSVP here, on the Facebook page, or at rsvp@millenniumhwy.net. I'll also have a meet page with more info and the itinerary set up on Millennium Highway in a week or so, which is where updates will be posted.

Hope to see a few of you there!

[Laura]

YAYYYY!!! (ow.)

I am SUPER excited for this meet. Mike and I will probably stay near Blacksburg, VA on Friday night and drive the rest of the way in that morning.

[Alps]

I have a route that seems to work, so it's a question of how insane I want to be the weekend before I fly away for three weeks.

EDIT: Apparently, I like being insane. I'm in.

[hbelkins]

Cool. Since you're coming from Raleigh, I'd recommend taking I-40, US 52 and I-74 to I-77, then take it north to I-81, then I-81 south to Abingdon. Take Alt. US 58 west to Norton, then US 23 north. Should take you about 5 1/2 hours. I've driven from home to the Raleigh area in about 7 hours with minimal stops, and Jenkins (the point at which I would have to turn off US 23) is about a half-hour from Pikeville and about an hour and 45 minutes from my home.



For those who might be looking at lodging in the area, you might want to book soon and explore options since the third week of October is usually peak fall foliage season in this region. Pikeville has a Hampton Inn and a Holiday Inn Express. There is also the Landmark Inn, a venerable local establishment, and the Brookshire Inn (a former Super 8). There are two local establishments, Daniel Boone Inn and Riverside Inn, neither of which I know much about but I would be wary of. There's a Comfort Inn in Grundy, a Super 8 and Comfort Suites and another Brookshire Inn (former Microtel) in Prestonsburg, and state park lodging at Breaks Interstate Park and Jenny Wiley State Resort Park.

Farther away, there is a really nice Ramada in Paintsville.

[jpi]

Already got my room booked

[Alps]

Cool. Since you're coming from Raleigh, I'd recommend taking I-40, US 52 and I-74 to I-77, then take it north to I-81, then I-81 south to Abingdon. Take Alt. US 58 west to Norton, then US 23 north. Should take you about 5 1/2 hours. I've driven from home to the Raleigh area in about 7 hours with minimal stops, and Jenkins (the point at which I would have to turn off US 23) is about a half-hour from Pikeville and about an hour and 45 minutes from my home.

That is my basic route up, except I'm taking US 64 over to I-77 for some added mileage, clinching US 52 in VA over the course of the morning and evening, and on the way back, grabbing some more US 52 mileage heading southeast from US 119 (side benefit of clinching 119 in WV).

[hbelkins]

Why are you leaving from Raleigh, if I may ask?

[Alps]

Why are you leaving from Raleigh, if I may ask?

A) Get a lot more new mileage done that way
B) Get to hang out with my favorite adopted nieces the next day (note: they are not actually adopted, I have let them adopt me as an "uncle")

[hbelkins]

B) Get to hang out with my favorite adopted nieces the next day (note: they are not actually adopted, I have let them adopt me as an "uncle")

So are you going to bring their dad with you that day? He's down as a "maybe."

[Alps]

B) Get to hang out with my favorite adopted nieces the next day (note: they are not actually adopted, I have let them adopt me as an "uncle")

So are you going to bring their dad with you that day? He's down as a "maybe."

Doubtful, but he may make a gametime decision to join me.

[hbelkins]

Went back to the area today and have added a couple of stops to the meet tour. There is one spot where we can actually drive on the road and an under-construction bridge because it's being used as a detour into a "holler" that is otherwise cut off by the new road. Also, Google has updated its aerial imagery and that revealed a set of bridges near Elkhorn City that I didn't know had been built.

Forgot to mention one other lodging possibility in the area, that being the Heritage House Hotel in Prestonsburg, which was originally a Holiday Inn. (They still call that stretch of US 23 "Holiday Inn Hill.") Also, there is a motel just inside the Virginia state line on VA 80, Gateway Motel.

And for those who may want to sample some regional soft drinks, the Shell Double Kwik on US 23 near the north end of the six-lane stretch sells both Ale-8 and Cheerwine. I doubt I'll bring Ale-8 for everyone like I did in Ashland, but the knowledge that it can be bought in Pikeville makes me feel a little better about that decision.

[Duke87]

Already mentioned on Facebook, but I will be there.

[Takumi]

Mmm, Ale-8. Makes me wish I didn't have such a full plate this fall.

[74/171FAN]

I'm leaning towards going, but I'm still a maybe.  Hopefully I won't have too much going on with school that weekend.

[Molandfreak]

I have a three-day weekend then, so there's a good chance I'll be able to go!

[Dr Frankenstein]

Mayyyyyyyyyyyyyyybe. Long drive, might carpool with Janko and another good friend of mine. Let's say 20% for now. (By now, most of you know that 33% and above means "Attending").

[hbelkins]

If you guys who are saying "maybe" don't care, go over to the Facebook event page and identify yourselves as "maybe" so I can begin taking stock of what kind of crowd we'll have. I've given a bit of thought to changing the lunch location but I'm not sure how big of a crowd the place I'm thinking about could handle.

74/171 -- I've always thought a meet in the Blacksburg/Christiansburg area would be cool, especially if we could get on the Smart Road. Plus, last I heard, Michael Summa was living in that area and it would be great to meet him.

[Alps]

If anyone is coming down the I-81 corridor to get to and from the meet, please let me know in personal email (webmaster @ alpsroads (net)). I want to see if I can reel in Michael Summa to join us, but he cannot stay overnight - has to leave his own home in the morning and return in the evening.

[hbelkins]

If anyone is coming down the I-81 corridor to get to and from the meet, please let me know in personal email (webmaster @ alpsroads (net)). I want to see if I can reel in Michael Summa to join us, but he cannot stay overnight - has to leave his own home in the morning and return in the evening.

That would make this officially THE BEST ROAD MEET OF ALL TIME. (Although a Blacksburg meet and going on the Smart Road would still be cool).

It's been a long while since I corresponded with him, but I seem to remember that he had some health issues at one time. There won't be a lot of strenuous walking at this meet unless people want to scramble up or down hillsides for photography purposes.

[froggie]

That would make this officially THE BEST ROAD MEET OF ALL TIME

That could be argued.  Call me biased, but I'd say my dropping in unannounced on the 2008 Raleigh meet is more epic.  Or the SEPA (or was it Baltimore?) meet where there were over 30 people in attendence.

[hbelkins]

I was there for both of them and I remember your entrance at Raleigh. (it was the SEPA event where we had so many people and they couldn't figure out how to split the check after we'd been rooted out of the room that Jeff had reserved).

[74/171FAN]

I'll have to see on the Blacksburg meet idea.  Right now I can't make any promises since it is my senior year.

Also I'm leaning towards coming, but I would not be staying overnight either.  I will probably be closing at work the night before, and I want to make sure I get some homework done Sunday.

[jpi]

That would make this officially THE BEST ROAD MEET OF ALL TIME

That could be argued.  Call me biased, but I'd say my dropping in unannounced on the 2008 Raleigh meet is more epic.  Or the SEPA (or was it Baltimore?) meet where there were over 30 people in attendence.

Steve Alpert's road meet in Baltimore back in April 2010 was by far the biggest turn out for a road meet that I know of (30 people) That was a blast!! :-)

[Laura]

If anyone is coming down the I-81 corridor to get to and from the meet, please let me know in personal email (webmaster @ alpsroads (net)). I want to see if I can reel in Michael Summa to join us, but he cannot stay overnight - has to leave his own home in the morning and return in the evening.

I know you said to let you know in an email, but since it relates to my question, I'm going to say it here. Mike and I plan to stay in Blacksburg Friday night. We will be driving back up the I-81 corridor.

Here's the thing: we were going to clinch a bunch of counties in south west Virginia after the meet. Firstly, for anyone who knows the area, is it reasonable to clinch the following in the following timetable?

Saturday morning (before the meet): Bland, Tazewell, Russell (out-and-back), Buchanan
Saturday evening (after the meet): Dickenson, Wise, Norton, Lee, Scott.
Staying Saturday night in or near Bristol.

I can't figure out the best way to clinch Dickenson and to enter Wise...

Anyway, relating to Michael Summa...if it turned out that Mike and I were his only way to and from the meet...we'd be happy to leave some counties behind in order to give him a ride.

[Alps]

Laura, thanks for the offer! I've passed it along and I'll see what he says. I know several people would like to meet him.